Monday, 14 January 2013

Mankunku and Goldberg Go Free in Cape Town

Best wishes
to you from us here at Electric Jive for 2013. Before sharing another
previously unheard gem from the Ian Bruce Huntley jazz archive, an update on
Electric Jive for the year ahead.

When comparing burn-out symptoms at the end of 2012, the four of us who run this blog agreed that something had to change. In addition to our own
working lives we have other voluntary projects besides Electric Jive that we are also committed to.
So, we plan to slow down and publish less frequently this year. We are also more
likely to mix up the post format, length, and content. Each contributor will
have a two-week slot in which at least one post will be shared. Sometimes we
may post more often within that two-week slot than in other times. All of us are committed to keeping this blog going for as long as our energies enable us to.

We kick of
this year with an eighth instalment from the Ian Huntley Jazz archive. Ian has
often pointed out to me that ‘free jazz’ was a lot more popular amongst South
Africa’s 1960s jazz musicians than we realise.

My
friend Max Annas reckons that much of the written history of jazz in South
Africa has been shaped largely by the evidence of relatively few studio recordings. He
agrees with Ian in pointing out that the narrative of jazz history in South
Africa has little to say of the enthusiastic embrace by important musicians of
the Free Jazz movement.

There is
still quite a bit of ‘free jazz’ to share from Ian’s archive, including a
number of private sessions of “Experiments in Selwyn’s Garage”, with Winston
Mankunku Ngozi and Chris Schilder mixing their own musical chemistry.
There are also a number of sessions at the Art Centre in particular which are
most certainly ‘free’ in character. Perhaps Cape Town audiences were more receptive and just as
enthusiastic in wanting to break with convention at that time?

Today’s
session was recorded at The Art Centre on 20th August 1966. While a bop
idiom provides lyrical foundation, and there is a meter that keeps the likes of me interested, huge spaces are
created for the musicians to express their own voice in the moment. The opening
track “Free Thing” features fairly frequently on Ian’s tapes. The second track “Ole”
is the Coltrane composition that featured on the introductory post to this
archive. The outstanding third track “Poor” was previously unknown to me and showcases Mankunku and
Goldberg taking their instruments to new places. Does anyone recognise "Poor"? Can you tell us more about it?

In addition
to having Morris Goldberg and Winston Mankunku Ngozi to hand on saxophones,
there is a double-up in having Midge Pike and Philly Schilder on double-bass.
Chris Schilder’s brilliance shines through on piano, while Selwyn Lissack's drumming is
clearly happy ‘out there’ in the experiment.

Please – if
any of you has anything you could add by way of information or
have a reaction to this music, we would very much welcome a few words in the comments section below.

11 comments:

Thanks again Chris...I hope this treasure trove continues to peel back the "accepted" narrative...when Blues Notes blew the London jazz scene apart in the late sixties that surely didn't arrive out of nowhere

Dear electric jive - publishing the Ian Bruce Huntley archive is an amazing testament to both the incredible jazz being blown in SA back in the day and to electric jive's commitment to allowing this wonderful music to reach a wider audience. I fully understand the pressures that may restrict your future work on the blog. However, if I may add a personal view, I'm frequently so impatient to hear the music that I skip the scholarly notes you've so painstakingly researched. I realise you wish to do the music justice, and you've published enough already to fill a book. However in the future you may consider keeping the music flowing and letting it speak for itself. The notes are fascinating but I can't begin to imagine the amount of work that goes into them. Thank you again.

Thanks for the comments. Point taken about the notes. There are a diversity of expectations among EJ visitors. Some do want to know more background. While we will probably be writing less this year, we do feel that sometimes the context in which the music was originally created is an important part of what makes it special. Either way, the music will keep flowing.

Thanks for sharing this archive material. I enjoyed it immensely. As a UK-based music fan I find the music of South Africa endlessly fascinating and I have learn so much for your blog. I fully understand the need to temper your efforts, but I hope you know how much they are appreciated.

Thanks Wallofsound for the appreciation - likewise, your great efforts at Inconstant Sol are a constant source of education for me. Look out for some Cape Town 60s experiments coming up next week. best wishes

hey guys ... just been catching up on some of the postings I had missed and just wanted to say am thrilled to read that despite the fact that you own to shared symptoms of burnout you have found away forward!! GREAT news ... thank you, thank you for all that you have done to date and the prospect of more to come.